Giancarlo Stanton's clutch home run in the eighth inning lifts the Yankees to a 3-2 victory over the Royals in Game 3 of the ALDS

Giancarlo Stanton delivered a pivotal home run in the eighth inning during a contest characterized by bullpen performances, leading the New York Yankees to a 3-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night in Game 3 of their American League Division Series at Kauffman Stadium.

Stanton concluded the game with three hits, contributed two runs batted in, and successfully stole a base for the first time in four years. The Yankees are set to rely on six-time All-Star pitcher Gerrit Cole on Thursday night, as they aim to secure a place in the American League Championship Series.

“We need to wrap it up tomorrow. No wiggle room,” Stanton emphasized. “We’ve got to get it done.”

In a match largely influenced by pitching, the Royals utilized four relievers before Kris Bubic, who transitioned from starter to bullpen ace, took the mound in the eighth inning. He struck out Austin Wells, but Stanton then launched a 3-1 pitch nearly 420 feet into left field, granting New York the lead.

“He’s consistently performed for us throughout his career,” remarked Yankees manager Aaron Boone. “I thought that at-bat against Bubic was exceptional. He approached it with the intent to make an impact, and he certainly did.”

The Royals attempted to respond against Luke Weaver in the bottom of the eighth, with Bobby Witt Jr. recording his first hit of the series and Salvador Perez contributing a two-out single. However, the composed Weaver managed to secure a flyout from Yuli Gurriel and subsequently closed out the ninth inning, achieving a save and completing 4 1/3 scoreless innings for the New York bullpen.

Yankees relievers have maintained an impressive record this postseason, not conceding an earned run over 13 and two-thirds innings.

"This has been one of our key strengths, if not our primary strength, throughout the entire season," remarked Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt.

In contrast, Aaron Judge, the leading candidate for the AL MVP award, has struggled significantly. The prominent slugger's postseason woes continued with an 0-for-4 performance, leaving him with a mere 1 for 11 record, which includes only an infield single across three games against the Royals.

However, he did contribute to the Yankees' total of nine walks on Wednesday night, bringing their series total to 22.

"You have to give them credit," stated Royals manager Matt Quatraro. "They are not chasing pitches and are disciplined at the plate. Nonetheless, we must improve our ability to limit those walks."

This game marked the first playoff appearance at Kauffman Stadium in 3,268 days, since the Royals triumphed over the Mets in Game 2 of the 2015 World Series, which led to their first championship in three decades shortly thereafter in New York. Eric Hosmer, the first baseman from that Royals team, was present to throw the ceremonial first pitch to a crowd that included Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

The Yankees had several promising swings against Seth Lugo’s diverse selection of nine pitches early in the game, yet they failed to capitalize.

Juan Soto flew out to center field in the first inning on a ball that would have cleared the fence in 17 other ballparks. Judge followed with a sharply hit line drive that was caught by Witt at shortstop, registering an exit velocity of 114 mph. In the third inning, Gleyber Torres sent a ball to the warning track in right field, just after a review confirmed that his potential RBI blooper down the line had landed foul.

The Yankees finally made their mark in the fourth inning with Stanton’s double, allowing Soto to score from first base, although he might have been out had Witt executed a more accurate relay throw to the plate. In the fifth inning, Soto contributed a bases-loaded sacrifice fly.

The Royals responded with two runs in the fifth inning, igniting a cheer from the crowd at Kauffman Stadium. Kyle Isbel initiated the scoring with a two-out double to left field, followed by Michael Massey, who hit a sinking liner that narrowly evaded Soto’s glove in right field, resulting in an RBI triple.

This marked the end of the scoring until Stanton's home run brought New York closer to advancing to the ALCS.

“They have exceptional pitchers coming out of the bullpen and outstanding starters, so it’s a challenging task,” Boone remarked. “Even in the second game, where we only managed to score two runs, we created numerous opportunities in the early games through our plate discipline. I hope we can truly capitalize in one of these upcoming games.”

STARTING LINES
Schmidt allowed two runs on four hits and a walk over 4 2/3 innings for the Yankees. Lugo pitched five innings for Kansas City, giving up two hits and walking four against a team that led the league in walks this season.

UP NEXT
Yankees: Cole (8-5, 3.41 ERA) will return to the mound on Thursday night. He surrendered four runs—three earned—over five innings in the opener on Saturday night but did not receive a decision in New York's 6-5 victory.

Royals: RHP Michael Wacha (13-8, 3.35 ERA) will face Cole once more after pitching only four innings on Saturday, during which he allowed three runs but was already out of the game by the time the Yankees scored the decisive run in the seventh inning.